1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of cigarette lighters. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of safety locking mechanisms of cigarette lighters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical conventional disposable cigarette lighter has a press-down button for ignition. In earlier lighters, there was no safety locking device for preventing the press-down button from being pressed down to ignite the cigarette lighter. Often times children play with cigarette lighters, and because of the lack of a safety locking device, they are able to ignite the cigarette lighter easily, which often causes accidental fires. It has been estimated by the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission ("CPSC") that there are as many as 150 deaths and over 1,000 injuries each year related to children under the age of 5 playing with cigarette lighters without safety locking devices.
The CPSC has imposed a new rule on all cigarette lighter manufacturers and importers, which became effective on Jul. 12, 1994. This new rule (codified as 16 C.F.R. .sctn. 1210) requires all disposable cigarette lighters sold in the United States to meet specified requirement for child-resistance. This means that cigarette lighters shall be resistant to successful operation by at least 85% of a child test panel consisting of up to 200 children living within the United States and distributed by age and sex.
Under the CPSC rule, the child-resistant mechanism in cigarette lighters must have the functions: (1) to reset itself automatically after each operation of the ignition mechanism of the cigarette lighter; (2) not to impair safe operation of the cigarette lighter when used in normal and conventional manner; (3) to be effective for the reasonably expected life of the cigarette lighter; and (4) not to be easily overridden or deactivated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,432 issued to Kim on Oct. 31, 1995 for "Gas Lighter with Ignition Safety Device" discloses an ignition safety device in a gas lighter to reliably prevent ignition of the lighter when a safety button is in a locked position, and to allow ignition of the lighter when the safety button is moved to an unlocked position. The safety button has a projection with an end surface which is aligned with an end surface of a projection at the upper part of the lighter when the safety button is in the locked position and thereby prevents the ignition button to be pressed down so that the lighter cannot be ignited which provides the child safety feature. However, when the safety button is moved to the unlocked position, the end surfaces of the two projections are misaligned and thereby allows the ignition button to be pressed down to ignite the lighter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,892 issued to Hwang on Nov. 24, 1998 for "Electronic Lighter with A Safety Device" discloses a lighter with a safety device having a seat provided on a top end of the gas container. The lighter has a press button with an upper cover and a press cylinder with matching hook-like ends. The hook-like ends of the upper cover are retained by a step portion near the upper ends of a pair of second guide slots located slightly to the back of a pair of first guide slots of an electrode plate of a piezo-electric element, so that the upper cover and press cylinder cannot be pressed down to ignite the lighter. After the upper cover is moved so that its hook-like ends lap over the hook-like ends of the press cylinder in the second guide slots, the upper cover and the press cylinder may be pressed downwardly to press a spring element to ignite the lighter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,069 issued to Rogelet on Mar. 23, 1999 for "Lighter" discloses a lighter actuated by a push control member. The push control member has an abutment surface which is normally opposite to a counter-abutment surface in the lighter body to prevent the press control member to be pressed down. The press control member can be moved so that the respective abutment and counter-abutment surfaces of the press control member and the lighter are in a non-active position which allows the press control button to be pressed down.
It is desirable to design and construct a new and improved cigarette lighter safety locking device which not only makes the lighter child-resistant and thereby reduces the injuries and damages resulting from children playing with cigarette lighters, but also easy to use and simple in construction and design and thereby contains the cost of manufacturing the lighters with the added safety locking device.